This study examines the extent to which brand-level satisfaction scores are related to loyalty metrics, controlling for the double jeopardy effect as well as the demographic profile of the brand’s customer base.
The study uses data for brands in three UK financial services categories: banks, car/home insurance, and life insurance. Regression analysis is used to examine the relationships between brand size, satisfaction levels, demographic profiles, and loyalty.
Firstly, the study finds a strong “double jeopardy” association. That is, larger brands have more loyalty, both in terms of behavior and stated preference. Next, brands with higher satisfaction scores tend to have somewhat higher first-preference loyalty, controlling for the double jeopardy effect. There are mixed results in relation to satisfaction’s link to behavioral loyalty. Lastly, aspects of a brand’s demographic profile, particularly in terms of whether it skews towards high-income customers, are associated with somewhat lower loyalty metrics, both behavioral and conative.
The findings represent an original contribution by translating what have been to date principally individual-buyer level associations (between satisfaction, demographics and loyalty) into brand-level relationships that are arguably more relevant to managers who act on this level of reporting.
